About today’s guest: Kate DouglasKate is the lead author for Kensington’s erotic romance line, Aphrodisia. Her WOLF TALES series pushes all the boundaries and her books continue to go into extra print runs as more readers discover that, at least once in awhile, those boundaries need to be pushed. She also has titles with Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and Hard Shell Word Factory.

Two lucky commenters will win one of Kate’s books (a choice of Wolf Tales V, VI or VII or Sexy Beast V or VI) Winner will be announced at end of Full Moon promotion. Last day to enter Saturday, April 25th at midnight central U.S. time. Winners for this contest does not have to be in the U.S.

Thank you, Lori, for this great opportunity! Kate Douglas, here…I’ve been traveling for the past few weeks and haven’t really had time to prepare anything, so I’ve asked Anton Cheval, the Chanku wizard and uber-alpha of my Kensington Aphrodisia Wolf Tales series, to appear in my place. Many of you know Anton—he’s in almost all of the fourteen Wolf Tales and Sexy Beast books released so far, including a role in the Wild Nights anthology from September 2006, so he’s been around since the beginning and can answer any questions you might have. Without further adieu, please welcome Anton Cheval~~

Thank you, Ms. Douglas, for your introduction. Now please get back to work on Wolf Tales X…or is that going to be 10? I heard they might change the numbering…no matter—¬just write it. Hello. I’m not exactly certain why Ms. Devoti thought to include us in her blog event. It is, after all, dedicated to werewolves. While I am more than capable of shifting from human to wolf, I am a shapeshifter, not a werewolf, dependant upon the phases of the moon or some obscure virus that can be passed on through a bite. I am much more—more than human, more than a creature of legend.

I am Chanku.

We are an ancient species that originated on the harsh Himalayan steppes. Powerful and fierce by nature, we have an ingrained sense of honor and integrity you humans should think of adopting. Our pack is our family, the health, happiness and safety of our packmates our uppermost concern. I did not ask to be our leader—this was a title thrust upon me by my pack. It’s not an honor I wear easily, but I do my best for the ones who love me. Most important of those, of course, are my daughter Lily and my lovely mate and our alpha bitch, Keisha, who is my superior in all ways.

I try not to remind her of that…

We are, after all, a matriarchal society. Our women carry the genes for shifting. Every child of every female who has the Chanku DNA is born with the ability—once they are sexually mature—to become a shapeshifter, even if the mother doesn’t know of her birthright. So often our kind lead lives of quiet desperation, out of step with the rest of society, knowing they’re different but not why. We all have a tiny gland near the hypothalamus that is only enabled by ingesting certain nutrients found in grasses native to our Tibetan birthplace. Those nutrients allow us to take animal form.

Until about a year ago, we believed every Chanku would become a wolf—that was until Mei Chen came along and had the audacity to turn into a snow leopard! We had our “back to the drawing board” moment when that happened. Luckily, the man she loved was eventually able to become both a leopard and a wolf, as is Mei, now. Otherwise, they never could have bonded.

That’s an important part of our pack structure—the mating bond. Our people mate for life in their animal form. Since we are telepathic, we are capable of achieving an amazingly intimate mental link during sex. That link is even more profound when Chanku choose the bonding ritual during mating—everything we’ve ever known or done is shared. Our minds open entirely to our mate—or mates, as the case may be—in total union. Indescribable, really. Another thing–once a woman becomes Chanku, she can only become pregnant by mating as a wolf after she consciously releases an egg for breeding. She has total reproductive control.

We are ruled by a powerful libido, and our packs tend to be polyamorous in nature. While we have our bonded mate and love them more than life, we are sexually free within our packs. The petty differences that tend to alienate humans in their complex relationships are not an issue for us—we have no concern with gender identity, race and age—as long as our partners are adults, obviously. What is important is that we are all Chanku with the common needs and drives or our kind. Impervious to human diseases and illnesses, we are still learning more about ourselves every day. We are discovering new abilities and new powers we had no idea were ours. We’re all quite amazing, really, but we are most definitely not werewolves.

If you have any questions about the Chanku, I will be more than happy to answer. And thank you to Ms. Devoti for generously sharing her blog with me, even though I don’t actually meet her werewolf criteria.

77 Responsesto “Full Moon of Werewolves: Chanku Are Not Werewolves & a Prize!”

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Anton…I just have to let you know that I was so upset reading Wolf Tales VII….I was in tears for the last few chapters! Now I can’t wait until your beautiful & smart daughter’s arrival! I love Kate’s books and anxiously await the next one!

Thank you, Jamie. And Barb, that was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life, to be too badly injured to protect my mate and my child. If not for the strength of my infant daughter, if not for the power of her mind, I might not be here having this conversation with so many wonderful people. Lily truly humbles me.

I love to read about the Wolf Tales and Sexy Beast, I have read all five of Sexy beast and seven of the Wolf Tales I am so excited to see that more is coming out, I am curious about what exactly happened when Mei changed to wolf, I must have missed that part, could you explain how it happened? The scenes in both books have definitely changed my boring life into one hot sex scene, and changed the way I think of it, my man has finally said “No more”, lol. Keep up the great work!

Hi Anton,
Thank you giving us an opportunity to get to know you better, and for introducing us to your beautiful and facinating family (I don’t think I’ve read about a matriarchal pack society before).
I’m truly looking forward to reading this series!

TBQ, if you have a chance to read any of the stories, please let Ms. Douglas know what you think of them. She loves to hear from readers.

Tracie, I don’t want to give away plot points, but the answer to Mei’s shift is in both Wolf Tales VI and Sexy Beast V/Chanku Wild.

Thank you, Blackroze, and you, too, Amy. I just got the new contract in the mail to day that will take Wolf Tales out to Wolf Tales 12 (or XII)

Eshani, the women are definitely the leaders among the Chanku. While I enjoy my role as the “uber alpha” leader of all the Chanku, I will always defer to my mate. I have nothing but respect for Keisha’s decisions, even when I don’t always agree. Thank you for taking the time to comment.

Anton, I love you! I love your world, I love your friends, I love everything about it. My whole life I have felt that I didn’t fit in anywhere, although I have friends, I was always an outsider. Your world gives me hope that I am not alone. I think I would fit nicely in your world. Give the babies kisses for me and don’t ever pull what you pulled Wolf Tales VII when you threaten to not come back to life…I will never forgive you. Although you didn’t ask to me leader of the pack, your powers, knowledge, soul, and spirit are what keep everyone together. Please tell Kate thank you and I can’t wait for the rest. Much Love :D

Thank you Marie, and good morning. And Evelyn, I think a lot of Ms. Douglas’s reason for writing about the Chanku is similar to what you’ve said–that sense of always being on the outside and wondering why you’re different. All of us who are Chanku have experienced similar feelings as we grew, and it wasn’t until we finally realized our true heritage–that all of us are something more than human–that those feelings finally made sense.

And I am sorry to have upset you in WTVII, but if you think YOU were upset, think of how I felt! Horrible…just a horrible experience, but also very life-affirming. Ms. Douglas went through a box of tissues writing that scene, which is good. If she hadn’t appreciated the emotions we were experiencing, she could not have shared it with her readers.

I am excited-there will be at least 5 more Wolf Tale books after WTVII. Now will there be any more Sexy Beast books after SBVI?
I really drive my husband and mother in law nuts with these books. I mean I make my husband go to the book store as soon as they open up on the release day then drive to my work place with the book. I love this series and hope it continues for years to come. :D
I love the way that Kate describes how when Lily and Alex are in the same cribe how Lily finds her way to be next to him. I thought that was so cute. I think she is steaking her claim to him already….

Hey I love the books, but I have a question. I know I remember seeing the exact ages of some of the characters, but not all of them. Does it say in the books how old Stefan, Xandi, Keisha, Tala, Jake, Bay, AJ, and Mik are. I might have missed it and if I did please let me know which books it is listed in. Thanks.

Anton, to you and your family, thank you for sharing what it is to have ‘family’ in all it’s many forms, and for making us all realize that love in whatever form it presents itself, is precious and pure and whole.

I wish you and yours health, happiness, love, and most of all … good hunting!

You are one very hot and dominant male. I believe that my husband is threatened by me reading about all of you and your families. He says I read to much. Just let Kate know that I am a very devote fan, and will continue reading anything she writes.

Annie, there will be Sexy Beast anthologies with stories of the Chanku through Sexy Beast VIII and Chanku Spirit, and Wolf Tales, at this point, through Wolf Tales 12 (or XII) though Ms. Douglas’s editor at Kensington says that she hopes the series will continue for years to come. However, there will not be any novellas after Sexy Beast VIII, which will release in the spring of 2010. Lily and Alex definitely have a special friendship, though I’m not all that certain it will lead to romantic love. Sometimes I think they are too much like brother and sister! We shall see. They still need to grow up.

Mel K, I certainly hope Keisha’s not reading this blog. If she sees your post, you’re in trouble!

Kat S–you want to know our ages? Well, I’m no child, if that’s your concern, and I’m not certain the others want me giving away their secrets, and it can be confusing, because a few years have passed since the series began, but more years have passed in the real world than in the books, if that makes any sense. In Wolf Tales VII, Stefan turned 45 and I am almost ten years older than he. Ulrich is 64, his love, Millie, is 58. Baylor, Luc, and Oliver are all in their early forties, Adam, Mandy, Keisha, Mik, AJ, Eve, Xandi, Jake and Lisa are in their mid thirties (though AJ at 39 pushes the “mid” just a bit!) and Tinker and Tia were 27 and 26 when they were first introduced in the first book. Tala is 29 and says that’s how old she’ll always be, but age for us is nothing more than a number. We’re discovering that, as Chanku, we do not appear to age as we did before we began taking the nutrients. Now that we’re shifting, our aging processes appear to have slowed. I’m still studying this phenomenon, as I’m not certain exactly what is happening. I hope that helps.

Ilona, I do hope you are able to find the books. Most stores carry the first Wolf Tales. It’s the purple one with a truly sexy couple on the cover. Not me, obviously. I would never actually pose for a book cover.

Carmen, being Chanku is an amazing thing. We are truly blessed by the Goddess to have the gift of our alternate shapes and our amazing sensuality.

Thank you, Mandy. Something we, as Chanku, have learned, is that honor, integrity and honesty are the traits we value in those we love. It’s not our age, our gender, our race–we are, after all, all Chanku. It’s the fact that each of us is unique, that we all have value and that we are loved by the pack, and in turn we love each and every member of the pack.

thank you, Venus, and if you have any questions at all, please be sure to contact Ms. Douglas. She loves hearing from readers and answers all her own mail…and mine, too, when she has the time!

Ah, Hope…I often have that effect on other men. They realize they can’t compete with me, and their frustration shows in their inability to accept the fact that their women enjoy reading Ms. Douglas’s stories. However, she claims she receives a lot of ‘thank you’ notes from husbands, so there are unexpected benefits for the men as well. You might want to share your books with your spouse. There are a lot of men who call themselves fans of Wolf Tales.

Checking back in and I see where there are a few comments I’ve missed. Ley, I do hope you enjoy the series, and if you have any questions, feel free to email kate@katedouglas.com. She’s much better at answering her mail than I am.

Thank YOU Carol. And yes, Ms. Douglas always answers her email. She claims that her readers are her entire social life…but what does that make me and the rest of the pack? Chopped liver? I don’t understand that woman…